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Originally Posted by I tell the truth
Yes I'm old enough to leave. But the second you do the news will spread quickly to the saints. And, you will be prayed about to be recovered. Certain saints will immediately contact you and try to get together with you subtle to shepherd you back.
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Yeah, I understand. If you leave and are stepping into nothing and with no one, it is an understatement to say it is difficult. In other words, if you leave and everyone you ever knew is still in the group you left, then leaving can be a desolate and turbulent journey, at least at first.
I'm one of the people who don't have a problem calling the local church a cult, and this stuff - news spreading quickly that you have left, being prayed about, being contacted to try to "recover" you - is just the stuff you have to deal with when leaving a cult. It wouldn't be a cult you need to leave if these weren't part of the characteristics of leaving. These things are exactly why some people decide to leave, lol..... On my part, I know there are false things said about me, but it's like, those things are a symptom of the group, not anything I need to concern myself with. But it took me some time to get to the point of "not caring".
Quote:
Originally Posted by I tell the truth
There is so much talk of destruction of the self, old man, flesh. They say that those that God loves He chastises. And, that Satan causes the suffering, but that God allows it because those that suffer most likely won't sin. But that God is allowing it to happen so you will gain Him to lose the natural man and flesh to gain Him. And, most importantly because He loves you.
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One big problem I have with this kind of talk is it tends to trap people in a state of passive inaction when things happen in their life that they otherwise would feel free to take steps to change. Like, an abusive boss at work becomes "God is allowing this so I lose my natural man" and they spend months or years suffering "in the name of God", when the truth is really, "um, this is a place I need to leave for my mental health to find a safer place to work, and I don't need to feel bad for one second for doing so". It takes personal agency out of the picture and has the real potential to cause unnecessary damage. The local church doesn't often provide disclaimers or nuance when they make these heavy crushing statements..... Also, too many things are called "the flesh" in the local church when it isn't really the flesh at all. Only a portion of the things they call "the flesh" or "worldly" or "sinful" are actually of the flesh, or worldly, or sinful.
Quote:
Originally Posted by I tell the truth
They mock and criticize Christianity for not preaching this. And say we need to confess and repent moment by moment for not being in the spirit and living and expressing Christ. It's very hard to comprehend and accept.
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Ok, like what you say here is a good example. The Bible is clear about what sins are, about what the commandments are. "Thou shalt be in the spirit and live and express Christ every single moment" is not one of them. Right now I'm sitting on my couch with the TV paused, typing a comment. Am I or am I not "expressing Christ"? No idea. Not sure that there is a way to do that right now. If I get unreasonably angry or terse with someone that I shouldn't, sure, I should confess and repent for not "expressing Christ", but this constant self-whipping that the local church seems to preach that you should constantly confess and repent that you are not somehow bursting forth with the shekinah glory of God every millisecond of every day is just not the state of abject condemnation that God has brought us into. I would encourage you NOT to accept much of what they are teaching, or at a minimum, to continue making sure you test what they say and to keep turning it over and examining it before you do accept it.
Not sure if any of what I'm saying is helpful, but if it is, seriously, anything else you need help figuring out, or "they said this but it doesn't make sense, help", please feel free to bring it up. The forum admins broke your posts out into its own thread, so this is YOUR thread as far as I'm concerned.
Trapped